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# Requiem for the Twinkie
November 19 2012
Written by Mary Elizabeth Williams.
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JUST SAYIN’ - Here’s that abyss of chaos and destruction the Mayans warned us about, America. In a stunning bombshell, Hostess Brands announced Friday it was shuttering operations in its 33 plants and liquidating its wares. Chief executive Gregory Rayburn declared Hostess would be “promptly” laying off its 18,500 employees and “selling its assets to the highest bidders.”
And so this is how a once mighty purveyor of treats meets its end, with a sad “Hostess Brands is Closed” message on the Web page and in a bankruptcy court in White Plains, N.Y. Cue America dropping to its knees, shaking an angry fist at the sky, and screaming, “WHYYYY GODDDDD WHYYYY?”
The news of the 82-year-old brand’s imminent demise — set in motion by declining consumer loyalty and a crippling Bakers Union strike — is a horrible blow to American business and workers, a sweeping job loss.
It’s also set off an avalanche of vows to hoard Twinkies till there are no Twinkies to hoard. As a friend mused Friday, “What am I going to get deep fried at state fairs now?” Yet even after the last Fruit Pie has been belched, the company’s legacy as cultural touchstone will live on.
Hostess is as iconic an American brand as it gets. Its products, which also include Drake’s, Dolly Madison and Wonder Bread, have become our beloved zippy punch lines and clever sight gags. ([the rest of Williams take on the demise of the Twinkie … including a question about Seinfeld … here)](http://www.salon.com/2012/11/16/requiem_for_the_twinkie/)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 93
Pub: Nov 20, 2012
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